Thesis (D.A.)--Illinois State University, 1993. / Title from title page screen, viewed Mar. 14, 2006. Dissertation Committee: L. Dean Hiebert (chair), John F. Chizmar, Alan E. Dillingham, Ronald S. Halinski, David D. Ramsey. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-82) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1999. / Title from title page screen, viewed July 20, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Paul J. Baker (chair), Nick G. Maroules, James Palmer, Lemuel Watson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-110) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (D. Ed. Min.)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2002. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-115).

Thesis (M.S.M.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Aug. 28, 2006). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (D.A.)--Illinois State University, 1997. / Title from title page screen, viewed June 5, 2006. Dissertation Committee: John F. Chizmar (chair), Dean Hiebert, Mark Walbert. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 38-42) and abstract. Also available in print.

This paper examines the effect of the 90s financial crisis in Sweden on patent quantity and attempts to determine the potential mediating role that institutions of higher education may play. The empirical design consists of adifference-in-differences model which relies on cross-municipality variation in crisis exposure, which is defined asthe percentage of employment loss during the crisis years, 1991-1993. The results suggest that the crisis did not significantly affect the overall number of patents issued; however, Innovation significantly increased in municipalities with an above-median college attendance rate. Additionally, I find that municipalities with access to institutions of higher education were also positively affected by the crisis in terms of patent quantity. Both these results indicate that government policy to expand access to higher education institutions may in fact facilitate innovation activity during times of financial crisis.

No description available.

Due to changing environmental conditions arising in the past ten to fifteen years, many community colleges fbr the first time in their relatively short history have experienced enrollment decline. Although the literature provides suggestions and recommendations for institutions to take, there is little discussion in the literature about what institutions are actually doing in response to enrollment decline. The purposes of this study were to determine how community colleges coped with and responded to enrollment decline, and to determine the effectiveness of these actions in reducing, halting, or turning around the decline. Survey research was used to collect descriptive data on how community colleges coped with and responded to enrollment decline. The findings of the study indicated that the majority of the respondents coped with enrollment decline by taking the following actions: reducing the number of day and night course sections; redesigning the curriculum; and by diverting funds allocated for noninstructional areas of the college to other areas of the college. Actions taken by the respondents to halt or moderate a condition of enrollment decline included: an increased emphasis on recruiting and retaining students; offering courses at times more convenient to students; updating the equipment needs of the college; and an increase in the political activity of the institution at the local or state level to alter current funding formulas. A number of the actions helped the college to cope with and respond to the decline, while others exacerbated the problem leading to further decline. / Ed. D. / incomplete_metadata

The study of retention was approached by looking at selected characteristics of students and making a determination of the effects those characteristics had on retention status. Selected variables were ability, socioeconomic status, sex, race, high school program, high school grades, educational aspiration, curricular type, enrollment status, and entry status. Ability, socioeconomic status, sex, high school program, high school grades, and entry status were related to retention status in a positive direction. Race, curricular type, and enrollment status were negatively related to retention. Blacks were more likely to be retained, students in vocational curricular were more likely to be retained, and full-time students were more likely to be retained. The causal model compared favorably with other studies using similar determinants of retention. However, the model failed to account for 92 percent of the variation in retention status. The challenge for future researchers is to identify determinants which would seem to increase the explained variance and to focus attention on more institutional factors, as they seem to substantially contribute to the explanatory power of the causal model. / Ed. D.

The primary purpose of this study was to construct and test a model of the factors affecting high school students' first time entry into different types of postsecondary institutions. To test the model, a sample (N = 5395) of high school students was drawn from the sophomore cohort of High School and Beyond data. These students were enrolled in different types of postsecondary institutions: four year colleges and universities, two year junior colleges, community colleges, and vocational technical colleges. The path model is a set of structural equations that considers the college enrollment decision of the students to be a function of four exogenous variables and six endogenous variables. The exogenous variables were: socioeconomic status of the student's family, student's academic ability, academic performance, and educational aspiration. The endogenous variables in the model were: high school program, encouragement for college attendance, cost of the postsecondary institution, size of the postsecondary institution, and student aid both in the form of grant and loan. These variables were arranged in a fully-identified block recursive model. Because of possible interactions caused by different parameters between blacks and whites, the model was analyzed separately for black students and white students. The model also was estimated separately for male and female students. The computer program, GEMINI, was used to estimate the model. Results indicated that tuition cost, academic ability, and educational aspiration were the most important influences on students' enrollment choice between four year colleges and other postsecondary institutions. Financial aid variables, both grants and loans, exerted significant positive effect on the college enrollment decision as well. The effects of these variables were found to be similar for blacks and whites, and for males and females. Recommendations for future research include further work on college going behavior with different populations. The studies of non-traditional patterns of attendance and the impact of current financial aid policy on these patterns would contribute to better understanding of college attendance behavior. / Ph. D.